Laura Story and David Crowder

I told you yesterday that Friday night I worked my first concert. Had such a very fun night and wanted to share with you some of the highlights of the evening!!

The concert was at a church in Fort Wayne and featured Laura Story and the David Crowder Band. Laura has lots of great songs. (Did you know she wrote "Indescribable?" As in the song Chris Tomlin made famous?) I like several of her songs, but her current big hit, "Blessings," strikes a chord with me because after the heartbreak I went through last year, I feel like it is a song I could have written. You know, if I could write songs. So I was very excited that she was part of this concert tour.

Crowder and his band are on their farewell tour, so this was my first and last opportunity to see them!
The station had a table, so before the concert began, I helped organize the stuff on the table. I didn't have a hanging name tag, so I decided to borrow Ken's. In return, he borrowed my regular name tag (that I didn't even know I had!). Anyway, this is Ken! (Since you're still taking a tour of people I work with.) He stops by my office to visit me and usually makes me laugh while he's there. I like friends who make me laugh. :)

And this is Amy! Amy is one of my lunch buddies...and after I'd been hired, but before I actually started working, she was the first person to email me and welcome me. I knew I was going to love her from that very moment - and she's just as wonderful in person as she was in that email.

We stayed at the table to meet people until shortly before the concert began, and then Ken, Ron, Jim and I went into this little cubbyhole, commonly known as backstage!

This would be when I started to pray fervently. This is a LOT OF PEOPLE TO STARE AT YOU!!!! We represented the station on stage to talk about upcoming concerts, throw freebies into the crowd, and introduce Laura Story.

It was while we waited there that I got a chance to talk to Laura for a couple of seconds! She had been at the station earlier that afternoon but I'd not gotten to meet her and I really wanted to at least say hi. So while she pilfered for a bottle of water, I said hi! She was very sweet.

Jim introduced all of us and no one threw anything at me, so I called that a good day. In that bag were about a dozen t-shirts, which I SUCCESSFULLY threw into the crowd. My pitching arm is better than I knew!

I was very sad to not get many good pictures of Laura, but her part of the concert was short, comparatively speaking, and I wasn't even in there for part of it. Anyway, this is Laura!

She shared a little about the story behind "Blessings," which is a song born out of prayers she offered up while her husband was battling a brain tumor. During the concert, she told us some of the funny stories from that time too - some of those "you have to laugh or you'll cry" sorts of things.

After intermission...Crowder took the stage!

The crowd was very worshipful while he was there - and I think this was my favorite picture of the entire night.

His musicians were good...those guitar guys could tear it up!

The whole band. (Well, one of the guys is hiding over to the right behind someone's head, but he's really there. I promise.)

David told a few stories of his own.

My favorite part of their segment was this part where they sort of sounded like TSO. Lots of violin and pop sounds. Very cool.

Best part of the whole night was getting to share it with my friend, Jessica! She was one of the Financial Aid student workers a few years back. She came over to my house every week to watch American Idol with me! She still lives around and I knew she loved Crowder...and she's a concert JUNKIE...so I invited her to join me!

I also got to meet someone who reads my blog - and I didn't even know her! That made my whole night. (Bless your hearts...you people who don't know me and still show up here to read. I'll do my best to keep you entertained!)

It's the Weekly Recap!

* Last Sunday I watched quite a bit of the 9/11 anniversary coverage before going to church, and then I spent the afternoon at Hazel Dell's Homecoming service, which I already told you about.
* Monday was a hilarious M.o.n.d.a.y. We had a bit of a chaotic show, and after it ended, Lynne said life would be so much better with an iced tea. So while she worked on other things, I sneaked down the road to McDonalds to buy us each an iced tea and our friend Amy a Diet Coke. All three drinks spilled (twice) in my car on the way back. I just laughed. Pretty good when the beverages purchased to fix the Monday actually added TO the Monday!

* Tuesday evening I went out to dinner with my mentor, Lara. We really hadn't had time to spend talking since my birthday back in May. She took me to a new Japanese restaurant here in Marion (boy there's a sentence I never thought I'd write). It was really wonderful. Hands down BEST crab rangun I've ever had in my life. And she said I ate seaweed. (Can I count that as a vegetable?) Proof that anything tastes good drowned in enough sauce!

* Wednesday was another first at work...my first day of Friendraiser! The station needed to raise money to help cover some unexpected costs...so they had Friendraiser. Most of the day, I was in the phone room ready to take pledges:

And during the Mid-Morning hour, I was in the studio with Lynne and Ross helping read pledges on the air...which was much fun! (And may I also just mention...love the food that descends upon the station during Friendraiser!!)


* Thursday was the conclusion to Friendraiser. I was much more comfortable in the phone room the second day, and I found it was great fun to get to hear more of my co-workers' stories during the breaks. (Sheryl and Scott are in this picture...Sheryl is one of my lunch buddies, and Scott is on the air in the afternoons.)
We were so excited to reach our goal EARLY! Almost three hours early! What a great blessing!

* Friday night...worked my first concert! Laura Story and David Crowder were in concert in Fort Wayne, and I was part of the station team working that night. More on that to come, of course (like you could get out of such a story), but just to get started...here's what it looked like from the backstage door. Pretty cool, huh?
And after the concert was over...I drove to the LAKE!!

* Saturday I spent the whole day at the lake with Ronda. I have SO missed her and it was wonderful to have an entire day to just hang out with her. More on this later, too, but this is a sneak peek at my BOAT RIDE! Books I'm Reading: Still loving the words in Jesus Calling. Didn't have a ton of reading time this week, but I almost finished A Confident Heart by Renee Swope. Oh my word - what a challenging book for me!

Favorite God Moment of the Whole Week: I think my favorite moment was yesterday. ALL of yesterday. Earlier in the week, one of the ladies at work shared with me an analogy she heard Angela Thomas give once...about drinking up more of Jesus in the moments when you feel thirsty. And yesterday was one big gulp fest for me. Being at the lake...making new memories to replace ones that still hurt so deeply...hearing God whisper to my heart because I was actually sitting STILL enough to listen...hearing Sue Ann talk for a while...all those things really boosted me in a way I'd not experienced in a while!

Update on Last Week's Goals: It was every bit as busy as I thought, but I did take some moments in the car to sit still and listen to the Lord...and then there was the day at the lake...yes, it was a definite success!

Goals for the Coming Week: It's the return of The Biggest Loser!! And in honor of that, I am working on finding a new workout routine that works for me. I'm facing the end of the outside workout days, both because of daylight issues and temperature issues. And I no longer have gym privileges since I left the school. I have several workout DVD's - but I need to find a rotation that works. So that's my goal for this week!

It Doesn't Take Much to Fascinate Me

It's a slow news day. :) Therefore I feel compelled to share with you the answers to some burning questions I had this week.

1. Why are the numbers on a touch tone phone backwards from the numbers on a calculator? During my days (or eleven years) in Financial Aid, I became VERY fast at punching in numbers on my calculator and on the little keypad on the computer. But then...when it was time to call people, I can't tell you how many times I misdialed, because the numbers are backwards. On a phone, the top row starts 1, 2, 3, the middle row is 4, 5, 6 and the bottom row is 7, 8, 9. On a calculator, the 1, 2, 3 is on the bottom row...then 4, 5, 6 are in the middle and 7, 8, 9 are on the top. Here are some (viable, I think) theories I found about the why they're different!

2. Do ticks serve any purpose? This one wasn't actually my question. It came up during Friendraiser when a few of us in the phone room talked about our dislike of spiders. One of the girls said she hates spiders as much as ticks...and she wondered why ticks even exist because they're just nasty. (Agreed!) Since I already had a running list of things to research...I added this one. And here's what I found. Doesn't make them any less disgusting, but it's intriguing information.

3. Can St. Joseph sell my house? A friend of mine emailed me a few weeks ago with a suggestion to bury a statue in my yard...was supposed to make my house sell. I didn't pay much attention, but last week, someone else told me that as a joke, she and her husband buried a statue in their yard - and the next day they got a full price offer on their house. I found an article about it here - St. Joseph, the patron saint of houses, is said to sell a house!!

I know it's a Saturday and you should probably have the day off, but it never hurts to pack in a little extra knowledge. Hopefully I've helped boost your skills today!

Friendraiser 2011 - Above and Beyond!

The last two days have been another first for me in the world of my new job! WBCL is a listener-supported station, and this year there were several unexpected expenses that popped up, so we had what we call "Friendraiser." Two days of raising funds - and getting to hear encouraging (and occasionally tear-inducing) stories from our listeners.

One of the unexpected expenses this year was the need for a new furnace. The morning team demonstrated what this winter would have looked like without said furnace:
Side note - these guys are SO FUNNY. Larry is on the left, and he's the news guy. My favorite story he's reported so far was this week. (I'm not laughing at the situation...merely the phrasing.) "Dr. Dobson is in the hospital after falling while horseback riding. He is listed in stable condition." (Get it?) Anyway. Then Phil is in the middle and Jim is on the right. Phil and Jim are always still in the studio when I come in to engineer and they make me laugh every single day.

The days actually started with Dunkin' Donuts and coffee but I failed to take a picture. (I was THAT hungry.) Then I went into the phone room for an hour to take calls. This was my very first one.

Do you notice how close that coffee cup is? And that I once again look like a Life-Alert operator? "Don't worry, Mrs. Smith. The paramedics are on their way."

Then I went into the studio to help on the air during the Mid-Morning hour. This is the lovely (truly lovely inside and out) Lynne Ford that I work with each day.

Part of my job this week was to hep set up for our lunches...the super duper Friendraiser salad bar! YUMMY!!!!!
This is me on the air Thursday - I should have used the more flattering headphones! LOL! I was unaware that my outfit sported the school colors of Lynne's high school...until I walked in Thursday morning and Ken sang the fight song for me. Guess I shouldn't wear that again, huh? :)

Thursday afternoon we got a GREAT treat! YOYO (Yogurt On Your Own) brought us cups of yogurt and toppings. I had a little festival of chocolate going on in mine. Fantabulous.

Friendraiser was scheduled to run until 6 pm on Thursday, but at 3:30, we reached our goal!! This was Cindy's first time to ever reach a fundraising goal since she'd worked there, so I had to take a picture. She was pretty excited!!

My favorite part was that we all gathered in the studio when Ross announced on the air that we'd made it to the goal. Pretty cool that he included everyone. I love these people and I love being part of their team!

While it's obviously great that we raised the money we needed so the morning guys don't have to wear coats in the studio...it was also a great boost to my faith to be reminded that God meets needs. And He'll do the same for me!

SSMT: Verse 16

I almost forgot it was time for a new verse...this month has absolutely flown by! Goodness.

I'll be honest about it...I had a hard time finding a verse. As I mentioned not long ago, I'm feeling kind of disconnected right now, and I really don't like that feeling at all.

So I went to Beth Moore's blog and looked at the verses people had posted for last time...and one of the very first ones listed fit me perfectly.

I will give them a heart to know me,

that I am the Lord.

They will be my people,

and I will be their God,

for they will return to me with all their heart.

~ Jeremiah 24:7 ~

Here's what I love about this verse:

* I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. God does the giving. That heart to know Him is His to give and mine to receive. And I love the intimacy of the word "know." Not just a head knowledge, but a deep, close, loving knowledge. Like what I experienced last year as I traveled through the desert. That kind of intimacy.

* They will be my people, and I will be their God. I love being claimed. (You can't tell me you don't like it.) And right now, that's a frequent topic of conversation in my prayers. It's so comforting to find in this verse the affirmation that He wants to claim me. He's chosen me. It's not news...but it's so comforting.

* ...for they will return to me with all their heart. And that is what I need to do. I need to throw my whole heart back into this relationship with Him. To ache for His closeness like I did in those painful days when even breathing required prayer.

So thankful for these words...I need them now.

30 Days of You and Me: Day Twenty-Six

Today's topic: The last random act of kindness I encountered.

I love random acts of kindness. I like to do them and I like to be the recipient of them! And when I stop to think about lately...I have received a lot of kindness. Among the acts...

...the author Lynne interviewed a couple of weeks ago who sent me an autographed copy of her book about singles.

...the strawberry smoothie my manicure lady gave me Saturday.

...the new kitchen faucet my parents surprised me with a couple of weeks ago.

...Dad's friends who came over to help clean up the tree disaster.

But the one that sticks with me the most actually happened last fall. (Some of you might remember this...I blogged about it.) Last October, I took a road trip up near Chicago to visit Jenna and then went on up to Eau Claire, Wisconsin to visit some friends who had been my youth pastors back in the day. As I traveled back to Jenna's from their house, my car overheated in a construction pile-up on the interstate.

I was near the Wisconsin Dells - about halfway between my destinations. I had zero phone reception and knew no one. I sat on the side of the road in my newly purchased boots and skinny jeans and cried...and then a trucker pulled over and came back to check on me. I popped the hood and he checked all the fluids for me. (Which was super helpful, as I know nothing about such things.) He told me I was okay...and just to take it easy to the next exit and try to stop to rest the car for a while.

No idea who he was - or even what company he drove for. I was far too out of sorts to collect that. But I am forever grateful he stopped to check on me. I know he was on a schedule...and probably already behind because of the pile-up. Thank you, Mr. Trucker!!!

What about you? Best random act of kindness done to you?

Hazel Dell Homecoming

My Dad, if you didn't know, was a school teacher all his working life. Often, though, he would be called on to fill in at churches if a pastor happened to be sick or on vacation. Some people thought he was a pastor full time. In fact, sometimes when he helped with funerals, the paper would list him as "Pastor Dave Freelan." I started calling him Pastor Dave just to be a pain. :)

Now, in his retirement years, he actually has a church of his own. It's a cute little church out in the country - always reminds me of the church building in Runaway Bride.

This past Sunday was their annual homecoming and Mom really wanted me to go. Sensing that it had been a while since I'd been a good daughter, I kissed goodbye an afternoon of sleeping and watching TV...and I headed to Homecoming.

The afternoon started with a carry in lunch. (I brought Mom's birthday gift from all her children. Her actual offspring. Not the cast of a soap.) Everyone stopped eating and started singing to her - and her face turned the color of her shirt.
Inside...a tote bag filled with everything she'd need in case of a winter vehicular emergency. Food...candles...lighter...devo book...paper...soduko puzzles...pencils...slippers...flashlight...blanket...I think that was everything. She loved it.

After lunch, it was time to go upstairs for the service. They started by singing "I'll Fly Away" and Mom GOT OUT HER PHONE AND CALLED AUNT B SO SHE COULD HEAR IT. That is my mother on her phone IN CHURCH, people! I wasn't missing THAT photo opp! And you can know Pastor Dave saw that one the minute church was over.

They had a really nice service planned out - music and speaking.

It had a patriotic feel in honor of 9/11.

The guest musician was R.B. Kuhn, who is a friend of Dad's. He's an amazing pianist, and he brought his daughter Emily along, and she sang with him. She has a good voice!

R.B. is very funny - and I enjoyed his thoughts in between songs.

He honored the branches of the military in his program...

My favorite part of the afternoon was when they tolled the church bell 11 times in memory of the 9/11 victims.

I'm glad I went...it was worth missing my nap. Great program...and great blackmail picture of Mom on the phone in church! :)

Kettle Corn Crispie Bars (Judy Reynolds)

When I started working at WBCL, one of the first guests I scheduled during my training was Judy Reynolds. Hailing from southern Indiana, Judy won the Midwest Living Bake off in 2010 with her amazing recipe for Caramel and Chocolate Kettle Corn Crispie Bars. Lynne saw the recipe in the magazine and wanted to interview Judy on Mid-Morning.

I felt it was only fitting to MAKE the dish so we could talk to her intelligently about it, and I quickly found WHY they won. Goodness. These are so very good. Judy is a delightful lady, and I enjoyed hearing her interview and talking with her as part of it. I think everyone should know the goodness that is this this recipe. It has more ingredients than recipes I normally make, but allow me to assure you it is WELL worth it. Let me also tell you HOW RICH this is. Cut them small!!

The Recipe:

8 cups Original Kettle Corn, remove any uncooked kernels
1 (8 oz.) package milk chocolate toffee bits
1 cup toasted pecans, chopped finely
2/3 cup light corn syrup
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 tablespoons salted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package chocolate chips (semi-sweet or milk chocolate)
1/4 cup hot caramel topping, melt to pouring consistency
1 tablespoon or desired amount of sea salt for topping

Line an 11 x 7 x 2-inch baking pan with aluminum foil; use enough foil on sides to be able to pull bars from pan easily when ready to serve; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl add kettle corn, toffee bits and pecans; blend ingredients together with hands or large wooden spoon; set aside.

In a small saucepan combine corn syrup, condensed milk, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and butter. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring continuously, about 5 to 6 minutes or until the caramel sauce has turned a light golden brown. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla extract. Pour cooked caramel sauce over reserved kettle corn mixture.

Blend, with a wooden spoon, until kettle corn mixture is completely coated by caramel sauce. Spread evenly in foil lined pan; press lightly to compact. Spread melted chocolate morsels evenly over kettle corn in baking pan. Use a spoon to drizzle 1/4 cup hot caramel topping over melted.

Top with desired amount of sea salt. Cool in freezer until chocolate and hot caramel topping has set; about 45 to 60 minutes. If bars are taken out too soon cutting them will smash the popcorn down.

Remove from pan to cutting surface using extended ends of aluminum foil; remove foil. Cut into bars with a sharp knife or electric knife. Recipe makes about 20 to 24 bars. These bars freeze well.
I purchased the actual "hot caramel sauce" in the jar...the really thick kind...instead of the squeeze bottle of caramel sundae syrup. It holds better on top of the bar. Make sure the sea salt is the coarse kind, not finely ground. I purchased pecan chips to safe time chopping. And if you didn't know - the chocolate toffee bits are found with the chocolate chips.

If you don't have an 11x7 pan (I happen to have one - but it is an odd size) you can use the nearest size you have...just know that your bars will either be thicker or thinner depending on the size of your pan. When you're done making the bars, you can lift the foil right out of the pan and peel it away.
You can toast the nuts in the oven, but Lynne shared the tip of putting them in a microwave safe bowl and toasting them in the microwave (set on high power) for 30 seconds, stirring, and then 30 more seconds. It just brings out the flavor and warms them a bit.

Judy taught me that one bag of kettle corn (if you buy the microwave bags) IS 8 cups. Easy measuring! I was worried that the toffee bits and nuts would fall to the bottom of the popcorn in the mixing bowl, but it doesn't happen. The chocolate coating on the toffee bits melts in the warm popcorn and the warm pecans, and acts kind of as a glue.

See? It mixes well. Do make sure you put the popcorn in with your hands rather than pouring it from the bag so you can catch any unpopped kernels. Don't want people biting down on those!

After that is all mixed, start on the sauce. Pour all the called-for ingredients in a pan.

This is what it will look like as you begin to cook. Make sure you do stir it continually so the sugars don't burn on the bottom.

It will come to a pretty good boil! This is what it looks like right before it's done.

Pour it over the popcorn mixture.

It will start to look kind of like caramel corn. Stir well.

Spread it into the pan. If you're using the correct size, it will come nearly to the top of the pan.

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave until they're spreadable.

Spread over the top of the corn mixture.

Take the lid off the caramel sauce, put it in the microwave until it softens, and then use a spoon to drizzle it over the chocolate. Immediately after that, drop the sea salt over it so it can settle in to the caramel and chocolate. Put it in the freezer for an hour or so while it hardens.

Cut and serve!! Amazing.

It's the Weekly Recap!

*Sunday I had computer woes. I spent the majority of the afternoon sacked out in the fat chair enjoying my second biggest time waster ever...surfing online for vacation destinations. I'm not sure if my computer overheated (it gets really hot sometimes) or what, but it shut down. After much prayer and several attempts, it restarted, but it failed to auto-recover the four hours worth of work I'd done Friday night. I elected not to get mad about it...nothing I could do anyway. Lesson learned in SAVING.

* Monday I enjoyed every last minute of my holiday. I already posted about it, but I got to hold a baby, eat Panera for lunch, and go shopping, shopping, SHOPPING!!! It was such a perfectly wonderful day. I'm sorry it took me eleven years to experience the joy that is Labor Day!

* Tuesday I got to join Lynne for a whole show! It was so fun! We did a show on our favorite quotes - and I also had my first on-air tears. Good grief. I knew that particular quote was a risky one to try out loud but I THOUGHT I could get through it. I thought wrong. But I dearly loved the show. And that night I got to have dinner with my friend Jenny. Have I mentioned how much I miss her? (Here's something YOU all missed...and you should be glad. As we were saying goodbye in the IHOP parking lot...the wind and my skirt created a Marilyn Monroe-esque moment. WOOPS!)

* Wednesday I donned my best Opie Taylor look and went to work. Don't believe me??
While at work, I played receptionist for half a day. My fifteen year theory that the receptionist is the most important, least thanked, and hardest working individual in any given office was solidified yet again. Oh Diane...how DO you remember all those things every day? You are my hero!

*Thursday was my first sticker stop at work. I already posted about it, but I'd just like to say again that I LOVE MY JOB!!! It was so fun to get to hang out with the girls and meet people...and wear a hat! Super long work day - but super fun! * Friday started out rough. I had bedhead hair (after freshly washing it...NOT GOOD), got stuck behind a school bus, didn't have my face on when I got to work...you get the picture. But it improved! :) I got to have pizza and Bible study with Marie after work, and we had the BEST talk. And in random news - I think I "arrived." Have you heard of Pinterest? My cheesy tortellini post was pinned! Shut right up!

* Saturday was a writing day!! I've not had time or inspiration to write since my Brown County Writing Retreat with Rachel this past June, but somehow this week, I got some ideas! So I scheduled a writing day (treating it like a "real appointment" in my day planner) and after my morning manicure, I made coffee and hunkered down with my computer and my thoughts! And then I got up and cooked...chicken lasagna that was SO GOOD you'll be seeing it here. Made a yummy dessert you'll see this week...and a batch of peanut butter cookies for Phats. :)

Books I'm Reading: Not much time to read this week. I did read in Jesus Calling and also started Renee Swope's new book, A Confident Heart.

Favorite God Moment of the Whole Week: I've been feeling pretty distanced from God lately, and one night I shot out a (truly pathetic) prayer of desperation about a situation that was hurting my heart. In the grand scheme of life, it doesn't matter at all. In the history of my prayers, it probably goes right up there in stupid-ness along with praying for fog delays when I was in high school. But God answered me in about an hour, and it was just such a boost to me - to know He IS listening and He DOES care - even about the stupid stuff.

Update on Last Week's Goals: Well...I did it! I made it through all the new things at work last week without completely falling apart! Only cried once and that had a root cause of exhaustion, which was SO not work's fault. I got through my two on-air days without wanting to throw up, I survived pretending to be the receptionist, I enjoyed the sticker stop...a good week!

Goals for the Coming Week: Part of my God-disconnectedness (like that word?) stems from lack of effort on my part. I get caught up in the busyness that is my life and I don't take the time with Him that I should. This coming week will be every bit as work-busy as last week, so my goal is to make concerted time to spend with Him.

9/11

I don't normally write about current events...world events...call it what you will. But tomorrow is the tenth anniversary of 9/11, and I wanted to do a post about that day to remember its significance.

It's with a fair amount of embarrassment that I admit to you I was unaware our nation even possessed buildings called Twin Towers. Seriously. Had no idea.

The morning of 9/11, I was in a division meeting. Once a month (or was it once a quarter? I don't remember now) all the employees from Admissions, Financial Aid, Marketing, and whatever other departments fell under the umbrella of enrollment management would get together for a carry-in breakfast and an update on what was happening within the division. As people gathered to eat, I heard one of the Admissions counselors talking about planes hitting one of the Twin Towers. I had no idea what he was talking about, or where it was.

That was really all I heard about it until later that morning. I accompanied a friend (who was my on-again-off-again boyfriend's sister) to the doctor. She didn't want to go by herself, and I had vacation time to use, so I took a couple of hours and went with her. While she went in with the doctor, I sat in the waiting room and watched TV...and that was the first I really got to see what was happening - but even then it didn't sink in.

That afternoon, I had a dentist appointment, so while I had my mouth mutilated (aka teeth cleaned), I sat with my head smashed against the chair, eyes glued to the TV above me. While I was in the chair, the word came that gas prices were skyrocketing (probably to a price we would now consider a real treat), so my dentist advised me to get gas on the way back to work.

(I didn't. I didn't want to sit forever in line on company time.)

Back in those days I was a demonstrator for Stampin' Up! and that night I had a party scheduled in Kokomo. I asked the hostess if she wanted to cancel, but she said she thought we could still meet. The guests were mostly family anyway. They showed up - and most said they welcomed the diversion to leave the TV for a while.

I did stop and pay $2304829304830 for gas on my way home from that party, and when I finally got home that evening, it hit me. Something so horrible, it was beyond my comprehension, was taking over our nation, and I felt very unsafe, even in my little middle-of-nowhere home.

My parents were on vacation in Michigain, the aforementioned on-again-off-again boyfriend had been sent out of town for work, my roommate worked nights, and I remember just curling up in bed and crying out of fear more than anything else. I worried that something else would happen that night, and I'd be all alone - and no one would be able to get to me.

It took a while for the whole scope of what happened to soak in. Because I'd missed so much of the initial coverage, I began watching documentaries and news magazines nonstop - to try to understand what had happened. And I never could wrap my mind around an attack of that magnitude.

I can't believe it's been ten years...and that I remember it so clearly.

Where were you that day?

Sticker Stop...Lima Style

Ready for a work adventure?! Yesterday was another first for me...my first sticker stop!

The station has window stickers for people to put on their vehicles...and we just got newly designed stickers. So the sticker stops provide a way us to get to meet some of our listeners and give them a sticker for their vehicle(s)!

The forecast for my day was...rain. Knowing that my hair grows to look like Monica Gellar's in the Bahamas, I went out the night before and purchased my first hat. PREPARED for rain! I was part of a team of four people. Marsha, Cindy, and Sheryl were my sticker stop-mates. We were Lima bound! My first time to Lima (which was a little over an hour from the station), so I thought it was photo-worthy.

Our sticker stop took place at Tom Ahl Auto in Lima, Ohio. We parked our van on the corner and people pulled up into the parking lot to get their stickers.
Check this out! Hat (because it was sprinkling), sunglasses (because it was bright), station shirt (to make me official), jeans (because my job is cool that way), and an apron (to hold the stash of stuff)!

Mom asked me yesterday morning, "Do they know you've never washed a window before?" MOM!!!!!!! Okay I deserved that. So Sheryl took this picture to prove I washed a window, thankyouverymuch. (We washed their windows and put the stickers on for them - and removed their old stickers if they had any.)

It did start to rain, but we persevered! My friends Cindy and Marsha, picking up prize drawing forms.

Who is too vain for a poncho??? Actually I'm too hot blooded for a poncho. I'd sweat to death! Cindy and Sheryl were wise and donned them. I just put on my hoodie and dug out my umbrella.

I loved everything about the Sticker Stop (even cleaning the windows, but don't tell anyone) - but meeting the people was the best part. Cindy and I posed with a couple of our friends.

All in all, we were so happy with the way the weather turned out. It could have been so much worse. We had about five minutes of actual rain. The rest of the time it either sprinkled or did nothing at all. We got to meet LOTS of great listeners and friends, and I enjoyed it.

On our way home, we got to have dinner together, and that was fun too. These three are very sweet and I appreciate the way they have welcomed me in!